docs: add contributing section to README for contribution guidelines

CONTRIBUTING.md

@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+# Contributing to Exercise Toolkit
+
+Thank you for your interest in contributing to the Exercise Toolkit! This document provides guidelines to help you contribute effectively.
+
+## Conventional Pull Request Titles
+
+This project enforces [conventionalcommit](https://www.conventionalcommits.org/en/v1.0.0/) style formatting for pull request titles to automate versioning and release processes.
+
+We do not require that every commit follows the conventionalcommits style, just the pull request title. Pull requests are squashed with the PR title as the commit message.
+
+Each PR title must follow this format:
+
+```
+<type>(optional <scope>): <description>
+```
+
+
+
+### Examples
+
+```
+feat: add workflow to start exercise
+fix(templates): correct typo in step feedback template
+```
+
+### Breaking Changes
+
+For breaking changes, append  `!` after type/scope
+
+```
+feat!: change workflow inputs
+feat(templates)!: change required variables for congratulations template
+```
+

README.md

@@ -12,3 +12,7 @@ This repository serves as a comprehensive toolkit for creating and managing GitH
 
 - **[.github/workflows](/.github/workflows)**: GitHub Actions workflows for automating common parts of Skills Exercises
 - **[markdown-templates](/markdown-templates)**: Ready-to-use Markdown templates for creating consistent exercise documentation, instructions, and README files
+
+## Contributing
+
+For contribution guidelines, see our [CONTRIBUTING.md](/CONTRIBUTING.md) file.